


The Third Date

by kuro



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dating, Established Relationship, Fluff, Insecurity, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 05:31:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2535944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro/pseuds/kuro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Tony have finally managed to take the step from friendship to dating. They have even made it to their third date without any major incidents. And well, Steve has heard what people say about the third date. This would be finally the time to turn their relationship into something more intimate.</p>
<p>...right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Third Date

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to inukagome15 for the prompt AND the beta! :*
> 
> Find me also on [tumblr](http://kurowrites.tumblr.com)!

“This is really good!” Steve exclaimed, stabbing another tortellini and devouring it with gusto.

“Did you doubt me?” Tony huffed, derisively raising an eyebrow. He wasn’t particularly successful at hiding a satisfied smile, though.

It was only their third date, but it had already become clear to Steve that Tony was someone who didn’t simply take you _somewhere_. He was the type to plan ahead and make sure that everything would work out the way he had planned it would.

Steve didn’t really know what he had actually expected when Tony had asked him out on a date. He had never really dared to even entertain the notion in the safety of his imagination before it had, quite unexpectedly, become reality.

He had agreed to the date before he had really realised what was happening. Once he had finally realised that yes, this was in fact reality, he’d had a slight meltdown. Natasha and Sam had taken pity on him and helped him dress up for the occasion, but not without a lot of sniggering and a fair share of horrible puns.

And then he’d stood in the hallway, his heart beating in his chest, suddenly wondering about what Tony had actually meant by ‘date.’

Tony had surprised him. He should have known that, at least. No matter what, Tony would always manage to surprise him, do something Steve didn’t expect him to.

Their first date had been utterly romantic in a way that was not over the top. Tony actually brought him flowers when he picked him up, a very pretty bouquet with flowers whose names Steve didn’t know, but that smelled very nicely.

He brought Steve to a restaurant that served delicious food and had a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. Steve had shed a fair share of his nervousness there, remembering that this was Tony, his friend and partner. They talked like they always did, only that now there was the occasional affectionate smile and joking innuendo.

After dinner, Tony drove him to a ‘secret place’ somewhere outside of the city for a midnight walk. There, in the dark, their hands had eventually found each other, entwining and not letting go until they returned to the car. Somewhere out there, under the night sky, they had also kissed for the first time, a little nervously, but also very, very enthusiastically.

When they had finally returned home in the middle of the night, Steve had been floating on a cloud. The good night kiss had been the perfect end of the date. Tony had, without knowing, given Steve everything he had believed he would never have now, in this strange new world.

The second date had gone very similarly to the first one, only that this time, Steve had insisted he was responsible for planning. He had taken Tony to the places he felt most comfortable, and to his relief, Tony had enjoyed it very much, laughing and smiling the whole evening.

Now, for the third date, Tony had brought Steve to a very nice restaurant once more, urging him to try out some food that Steve had been rather sceptical of, but that turned out to be utterly delicious. _Of course_ Tony had tried it out before he had brought Steve here.

“I was a bit unsure, you know,” Tony suddenly confessed, twirling his fork in his hand.

“About the food?” Steve asked, surprised. Tony knew Steve’s taste, and he usually had an infallible instinct when it came to things Steve might like.

“No, not about the food,” Tony answered, hesitating a little. He nervously tapped his fingers on the table in a peculiar rhythm, intensely studying his napkin. “About…the whole dating thing. Date thing. If it doesn’t bore you. If you don’t want something a little more…exciting.”

Steve couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“Tony,” he said, reaching out for Tony’s hand and waiting until Tony finally looked up from his plate. “I have so much excitement in my life. Believe me, I’m completely, utterly satisfied with a quiet dinner. In fact, I pray for quiet dinners every day.”

That made Tony laugh, too, and the two of them sat there for a while, holding hands and smiling at each other.

“Thank you,” Tony eventually said, softly.

“Thank _you_ ,” Steve replied with utmost sincerity.

*

Luckily, Steve’s prayers seemed to have been answered and the dinner turned out to be just that, a quiet dinner, and not the prelude to another world-saving mission.

Which meant that Steve and Tony eventually found themselves in front of the elevator, looking and yet not quite looking at each other, trying to figure out what they should do next.

Steve had honestly thought that Tony would eventually make a move. He knew about Tony’s past – he wasn’t naïve, thank you very much. So he kind of had assumed that Tony would take the lead, that he would guide Steve. He had never been good at these things. It had been Tony that had taken the first step and asked him out; it had been Tony who’d made this possible. So Steve had assumed it would also be Tony who would take the whole thing further…physically.

Instead, it had been Steve who had slipped his hand in Tony’s, and it had been Steve who had initiated the first kiss. Not that Tony wasn’t a very enthusiastic participant once they had actually started.

But there was a gap between Steve’s expectation and the reality, and it honestly confused him. Tony was attentive and he was affectionate, but there was a certain line that he never overstepped. And Steve had no idea what to do with that.

“I had a lovely evening.” Tony’s sudden words startled Steve out of his thoughts. “Thank you.”

“I…me, too,” Steve replied lamely, shrinking into himself. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know how to even broach the subject.

“Steve, are you okay?” Tony asked, a frown forming on his face. He reached out and gently, almost hesitantly, touched Steve’s arm. “Is something wrong?”

“I…really, really like you, Tony,” Steve blurted out, blushing. “And I would like to-” He swallowed nervously.

Tony looked surprised for a second, but then he smirked a little. He stepped closer to Steve, lifting a finger and tracing his chin line.

“Why, Captain Rogers,” he whispered, letting his finger rest on Steve’s lips. “Are you propositioning me?”

“A little?” Steve stuttered, blushing harder, making Tony laugh and break character.

“Steve,” he said, still smiling. “We’re both nervous. No, shhh, listen to me. I’m nervous, too. I don’t actually have a lot of experience with this whole dating thing. So let’s enjoy this, okay? Just do whatever feels comfortable, and don’t worry about the rest.” He lightly stroked Steve’s arm soothingly.

“Oh,” Steve mumbled, feeling a bit like a schoolboy. He mulled the information over for a moment. Steve was nervous. Tony was nervous. They both were unsure. He could actually work with that. “Okay. Can I kiss you again?”

“Of course,” Tony assured him, already leaning in.

The kiss felt really, really good, as all kisses with Tony did. And this time, when Steve reached out and wrapped his hands around Tony’s waist and Tony melted into Steve without hesitance, it felt as if this was how things were supposed to be.

Idly kissing Tony’s nose, Steve contemplated that this feeling probably wasn’t wrong.

“So?” Tony asked.

“I think I’m pretty good right now,” Steve said, giving Tony another kiss. “Perfect, actually.”


End file.
